FAQ

Yes, I do! On my Resources page are links to multiple guides. In addition to my free guides, I have an all-inclusive, 180-page book available via online retailers that walks you through every step from hiring an editor to receiving your author copies. 

My rates are based on the industry standard rates, and I require payment in full before I begin work. I use the word count of the manuscript to help determine the project fee. I use this method because it allows me to quote an accurate price upfront as opposed to an hourly rate. You will not receive a massive final invoice or an approval request for more hours in order for the job to be completed. If you would like to reserve a spot in my schedule, I charge a non-refundable reservation fee of $100. This fee is credited to the balance owed.

My specialties are memoirs, biographies, creative non-fiction, and fiction. I also edit self-help type books and work on the drier biblical scholar books, although I tend to stick with returning clients for the scholarly books. For fiction, my preferences are modern romance / chick lit and historical from the Civil War period onward. I also work with middle grade fiction, and I will consider biblical fiction. I prefer “clean” books with no erotica or excessive gore.

All prices include, at minimum, 2 readings of your manuscript plus phone calls between editor and author as well as unlimited email and text support during our partnership.

After you have written your manuscript, it is important to have another set of “eyes” look at it. When a writer writes and rewrites, they become so familiar with the text that oftentimes the brain reads or sees things that aren’t necessarily there. Even when you think your manuscript is perfect, please consider having it edited by a professional.

I base all of my editing on The Chicago Manual of Style  (often referred to as the Book Editor’s Bible),  Merriam Webster’s Dictionary, and, if applicable, The Christian Writer’s Manual of Style, 4th ed.

It’s difficult to answer this question without knowing the length of your manuscript. I highly recommend starting with a manuscript critique because that will give an estimate based on the manuscript. In general, developmental editing takes 6-8 weeks, which is considerably longer than copyediting (about 2-3 weeks) or proofreading (about 1 week) because of the amount of revision involved with a developmental edit. Another factor that influences the editing time frame is how quickly an author responds to the editing queries. If they respond within 24-48 hours, the work progresses faster than if they take 2 weeks to respond.

All my designs are unique and custom designed for each print book. I do not work from templates for print. If you want to see examples of custom print interiors, please check my portfolio. For an ebook, I use customized templates and will send the options once we are ready to start working together on the ebook. For those on a budget, I do offer premade covers that you can browse and choose from.

The covers I design are full wraps – front, spine, and back – for printed formats (paperback and hardback with and without dust jackets). Full wraps require a lot of precision and are very specific to the individual book. Other sites provide front covers only or e-book covers that might meet minimum printing standards. If, later on, you decide to use that cover for a print book, you will likely have to pay for it to be recreated at the proper dimensions and resolution for printing.

Yes, most book printers require covers to be submitted on a template. Every printer has a template unique to their business. I’ve worked with numerous book printers across the US, including, but not limited to, KDP and IngramSpark, and I know how to request and use their templates.